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This project was
created on 03/24/2014
and last updated 10 months ago.

Description

Inspired by the hack a day sci-fi-contest, I decided I would try and build a networked flux capacitor status monitor. I will originally set it up so that I can show teamcity build progress. The project will be connected wirelessly to receive updates from teamcity. When the build starts the led strips will start out pulsing slow, and as the build progresses it would speed up. If the build has failed then the center light will light up red, if it has passed then light up green or white, not sure yet. The API should be simple enough to reuse for anything you would want a status monitor for.

update - I decided to use the likes for this project to drive the delay of the flux capacitor. :D

Components

Project logs

This morning I finished wiring the flux capacitor up to the breadboard while I wait for the board to come in. I now have a fully functioning flux capacitor. I wont be getting the board in before the end of the contest so It is not 100% complete, but all functionality is complete and it works, so hopefully we will get a shirt!

tonight I wrote a small node server to scrape the skulls from this project and update the flux capacitor delay with the amount of skulls I have. It will hit my project page every 15 minuets and if the value has changed will send a request to the flux capacitor to update.

While the flux capacitor only has one method, I built the code to split up the url into a method and value, which would allow me to expand the feature set pretty simply to support more methods if i need to.

Build instructions

1

The following instruction will layout how I went about building this project. I know this is a rather simple device, but is the most complex thing I have made to date. I have learned a lot during the process and am glad I participated.

2

1. The first thing I did after coming up with the idea is to find a way to control 3 sets of 8 leds on each with a minimum amount of wires. I found an article that talked about shift registers and went ahead and ordered a few to try them out. following the arduino shift out article I was able to get them working on a breadboard.

3

2. The next thing i needed to do was to find a way to connect to the internet. I found the cc3000 wireless module on sparkfin and decided to give it a try. I put in an order and moved on while i waited for it to ship.